Flags at all state buildings in New Jersey will be lowered to half-staff on Thursday to honor a state trooper who was killed when his cruiser struck a deer last weekend.
Gov. Chris Christie ordered the honor for 24-year-old Anthony Raspa, who lived in Highland Park and was a member of Troop "C'' based at the Hamilton Township station in Mercer County.
State police officials have said Raspa and partner Gene Hong were patrolling eastbound on a stretch of I-195 in Monmouth County when their Ford Crown Victoria struck the deer early Saturday.
The car ran off the side of the road and hit a tree. No other vehicles were involved in the crash.
The 29-year-old Hong was treated at a hospital for lacerations and a neck injury.